I've seen pictures of locosts with extra bits of pipework stuck on the front to confound the sva man's desire to inspect suspension bolts and edges.
Please could you direct me to photos that show construction and fixing detail. Specifications, plans, measurements would also be helpful.
Cheers
Dave

not to be pedantic, but the SVA is there for a reason: to ensure your car will not break up and kill you.

from what you said, you don't want the sva man to check your suspension bolts... IMHO these are critical as you really dont want them to fail at speed.

if it is the edges you're worried about, just cover them with rubber or something...

[Edited on 24/10/08 by robertst]

SVA doesn't check whether the bolts are tight or the right grade of metal (certainly doesn't ask you to take covers off to check they are high tensile) - just whether they are sharp or pointy. Anything which is long enough and forward enough to contact the big cone first should do. Have a look at the Dax website as they are standard on them.

Chris

at my SVA he asked me to rmove nut covers to chech if they were 8.8 bolts for my suspension / wishbone mounts, front and back.

Here are the indicators I had on my car for SVA. Tester did not check any of the front suspension for anything sharp, he did still look at it to see if there was anything unsafe in the way it was put together.

The indicators still have to be in the correct position/distances as per SVA manual.
Rescued attachment P1010100.JPG

I posted a description of mine after a few asked so here you go Indicator Bar Its not a cheat as such, it can become a permanent feature

Steve

quote:

---

Originally posted by robertst
not to be pedantic, but the SVA is there for a reason: to ensure your car will not break up and kill you.

from what you said, you don't want the sva man to check your suspension bolts... IMHO these are critical as you really dont want them to fail at speed.

if it is the edges you're worried about, just cover them with rubber or something...

[Edited on 24/10/08 by robertst]

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I believe the indicator bar is legit as it means the cone they use touches it first, therefore the bar becomes the fromt of the car and everything behind is exempt. I have however heard reports of discussions at tests regarding the stiffness and strength of such bars. I think they are a bit like having a bumper on a std car.


My view however is that if people are using such devices as a cheat, then for not a lot more effort it is rather easy to ensure the std construction can pass the test. I dont see this part of the SVA as being that difficult to pass. The testers arent daft. They also know that if someone gets caught up in that area in a crash then they are going to be hurt anyway, however ensuring sharp edges are covered will lessen the damage and resultant work that our awesome paramedics and A+E staff have to perform.



Why not use the bumper bar idea but also cover up those bolt heads and spring seats etc. as well?

The testers have been known to question the strength of the bar - in other words, as Darren says, the bar does have to be fairly tough and rigid. I'm sure I've heard sometime that there's a 'must resist X Kg of force' rule somewhere - but don't ask me to find it!

As for sharp edges etc - the majority of pedestrian accidents happen in town streets, where cars generally travel at 30mph or so. If the pedestrian is seen in time, they may only get hit at 10 - 20 mph (as the adverts keep telling us) - at this speed they may get some broken bones, but there's no reason why they should get torn to shreds as well.

There's a very good reason why the metal ball the testers use is the same size and shape as small childrens' heads...

As usual you've been really helpful.
For the record ... I'm not interested in bulding an unsafe vehicle but I would like to pass the test with out shoulding the front of the car in rubber and cable ties. It is an area that a ot of other builders have had difficulty with.
Thanks
Dave

I should add on the positive side that these bars are a splendid way to mount indicators with a stone-cold certainty that they'll be near enough to the edge of the car - something that can't always be said about mounting them on the nose cone.